Laura Maceika, 1987-2009: Member of Chicago Dance Crash

May 14, 2009|By Sara Olkon, TRIBUNE REPORTER

A spirited and poetic ballet dancer, Laura Maceika left school at 16 to dance professionally. Three years later, she joined Chicago Dance Crash, becoming the youngest member of the contemporary dance company that mixes ballet, hip-hop, break-dancing and jazz.

On Saturday, Ms. Maceika's body was discovered in her Chicago apartment. The 21-year-old woman committed suicide, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

"She was just opening up to the world," said Paul Maceika, an uncle. "She was at that age where her promising future was just beginning to be fulfilled."

Relatives and friends describe a fiercely independent, extremely blunt woman who was both effortlessly sarcastic and warmly loving.

She was a loyal friend who feverishly saved can tabs to raise money to fight cancer.

"The most striking thing about her was that she was so easy to love," said Tony Coughlin, the father of one of Ms. Maceika's closest friends. "She had a zany way of looking at things and loved to pick out the incongruities of society and culture. That could really get her laughing, and when she laughed she made everyone laugh."

Ms. Maceika had just completed her third year with Chicago Dance Crash. Company founder Mark Hackman said he last saw Ms. Maceika at a cast party on May 3. They talked about going to see the movie "Wolverine," and she was planning to move into a new place.

"She would say incredibly nice things out of nowhere. She told me, 'You are one of my most favorite people,' and I got a chance to tell her, 'Laura, you are my most favorite person.'"

Lyndsey Rhoads, a senior company member at Chicago Dance Crash who introduced Ms. Maceika to the company, noted "La-Laura's" loving spirit.

"One day I came home to find her spooning with my 130-pound greater Swiss mountain dog in my bed, sleeping peacefully, just cuddling," Rhoads wrote in an e-mail. "Laura gave so much to everyone and always supported their dreams.

"She was a muse, a sponge, love and inspiration."

Ms. Maceika kept a wish list on the dance company's Web site.

Among her dreams: "to go rock climbing ... but the real kind" and "enough hours in the day to do everything I wanna do."

Kristine Stasiek, a friend and the girlfriend of Ms. Maceika's twin brother, recalled on a tribute the late woman's own words: "Through all the struggles, it's not the house or the car or the money that gets us through, it's our family."

Born in South Bend, Ind., Ms. Maceika began her dancing career at the Woodstock Ballet Studio.

She also trained and performed with the Milwaukee Ballet, the Joel Hall Dance Center and the Performing Arts of Spring Grove.

She is survived by her mother, Jeri Pulver; her father, Richard Maceika; three brothers, Greg, Adam and her twin, Peter; a stepsister, Christine Moore; three stepbrothers, Kevin, Michael and Brian Moore; and a grandfather, Loren Pulver.